Summary of Key Results from the 2013/2014 Survey of Visa Applicants Who Used a Licensed Adviser

1. Summary of Key Results from the 2013/2014 Survey of Visa Applicants Who Used a Licensed Adviser Survey undertaken by: Premium Research Report prepared: July 2014

2. Background • Since 2009 the Immigration Advisers Authority has surveyed clients who have used a licensed immigration adviser. • This document provides a summary of the key findings of the surveys conducted between 1 May 2013 and 30 April 2014. All results shown are for clients who used a licensed adviser (including any comparisons to earlier surveys).

3. Key Headlines • Overall, perceptions of licensed advisers remain very favourable with 87% of clients saying they would be willing to recommend their adviser to friends or family and a total of 83% of clients satisfied with the overall service they received. • The primary reasons for satisfaction were that the service was helpful, professional and honest. “Services were informative and timely. Adviser was very professional and helpful.“ “Very professional at all times, with clear information being provided at every step of the process.“ • There are still some dissatisfied clients. A total of 8% of clients were dissatisfied with the overall quality of the service and 8% said the quality of service was worse than they expected. • The primary suggested service improvements are communication related i.e. giving clearer explanations and detailed information and keeping in contact with the applicant.

4. Survey Approach & Sample 54,602 Total number of applicants who used an adviser • The survey was undertaken using an online methodology. • Applicants who had received a decision on their application and were recorded by Immigration New Zealand as having used a licensed immigration adviser (between 1 May 2013 and 30 April 2014) with a personal email addresses on record, were invited to participate. As such the results of the survey are only generalisable to clients with a personal email address.* • Survey data was collected over a 12 month period in three waves during 2013 and 2014. • A response rate of 22% was achieved after excluding undelivered emails (672) and ineligible respondents (152) (compares to 24% for the 2012/2013 survey). 41,283 Used a licensed adviser 6,811 Applicants with a personal email listed with INZ 1,341 Survey respondents * Only 16% of applicants who used a licensed adviser had a personal email recorded on the INZ database (compares to 12% in 2012/13 and 16% in 2011/12)

5. Overall Satisfaction • 83% of applicants who used a licensed adviser were either very satisfied or satisfied with the overall quality of service received. • 87% said they would be highly likely or likely to recommend their adviser. • These results have remained fairly stable over the past three surveys, following the lift in satisfaction seen in 2011/2012. Base: Total sample (used a licensed adviser) 2008/09 n=318; 2009/10 n=757; 2010/11 n=-508; 2011/12 n=598; 2012/13 n=1,053; 2013/14 n=1,341

6. Reasons for Satisfaction / Dissatisfaction • The top 5 reasons for being satisfied /dissatisfied overall with the service received are shown below. The reasons given remain largely unchanged from earlier surveys. • However, this year there was: • an increase in clients saying they were satisfied overall because their adviser was knowledgeable/experienced (17%, up from 13% in 2012/13) • a decrease in those saying they were dissatisfied overall because their adviser did not explain things clearly (7%, down from 4% in 2012/13). Main Reasons for Being Dissatisfied Main Reasons for Being Satisfied Base: Total sample (used a licensed adviser) 2013 n=1,341

7. Reasons & Benefits of Using a Licensed Adviser Top 5 Reasons for Using a Licensed Adviser • A new question in the 2013/14 survey asked clients to choose (from a list) the main reasons why they decided to use a licensed adviser to assist with their application: • The benefits of using a licensed adviser most commonly mentioned were similar to 2012/13: knowledge/experience/advice (48%); easy/hassle-free (23%) and good/helpful service (18%). • Results were unchanged from the previous survey, with more than eight in ten clients agreeing or strongly agreeing: Agreement that as a result of using a licensed adviser… Base: Total sample (used a licensed adviser) 2013/14 n=1,341

8. Adviser Performance • Ratings of adviser performance ranged from a high of 94% to 69%. • Advisers were rated as performing ‘very well’ or ‘well’ by 80% or more of clients on all but four of the 35 measures. • Performance was mostly stable or showed small improvements, with 7 attributes showing a small but statistically significantly higher rating compared to 2012/13. No ratings have declined. • The attribute with the greatest improvement from 2012/13 was: returning my personal information passports and other documents on request and without delay (91%, up from 84% in 2012/13). Top 5 Areas of Performance 2013/14 Bottom 5 Areas Performance 2013/14 Base: Total sample (used a licensed adviser) 2013/14 n=1,341

9. Overall Ease of Making an Application • Clients remain divided on the ease of making an application for a visa. Just under three in ten clients (29%) felt it was ‘very easy’ or 'easy' while a similar proportion (30%) felt it was 'very difficult' or 'difficult'. • The main reasons clients felt it was easy (unprompted) were: the adviser helped/did the work (14%); it's not difficult if you follow the processes/rules (11%); and the overall process is not difficult (9%). • The main reasons clients felt it was difficult (unprompted) were: the overall process is difficult/complex (24%); the evidence/supporting documents required (14%); it’s a slow/lengthy process (10%); and paperwork/forms are difficult to understand (10%). Overall Ease of Making a Visa Application Base: Total sample (used a licensed adviser) 2013/14 n=1,341

10. Suggested Improvements • The same themes in clients’ suggested improvements were evident in this year’s survey as in previous surveys. More clients in the 2013/14 survey mentioned ‘explain clearly’ and ‘keep in contact’ this year, while fewer mentioned ‘give good/helpful service’. Top 8 Suggested Improvements “The visa options should be clearly explained and the benefits of the visa should also be elucidated by the adviser. The adviser just does not share all the information relevant to the visa...” Base: Total sample (used a licensed adviser) 2013 n=1,341

11. Awareness and Compliance • 93% of clients were aware they had used a licensed adviser – the same result as in 2012/13. • 85% were provided with a written agreement – this result is unchanged over time. • 64% had received a copy of the Code of Conduct or Licensed Advisers Professional Standards. • 47% were aware of how to make a complaint if they were unhappy with the service they received. Base: Total sample (used a licensed adviser) 2011/12 n=598; 2012/13 n=1,053; 2013/14 n=1,341